Candidate: Will Fitzpatrick
Home: Cranston, Rhode Island
Profession: Computer Programmer/Analyst
Office Sought: Rhode Island State Senate
Primary Date: September 13, 1994
General Election: November 8, 1994
Will Fitzpatrick for Rhode Island State Senate
In November, 1992, Will Fitzpatrick became the first
openly gay candidate elected to public office in the
history of Rhode Island, unseating a 15-year, anti-gay
incumbent with 62 percent of the vote. Despite his
stellar record as a freshman Senator, Fitzpatrick has
been targeted for defeat by the radical right. It is
essential to our struggle for civil rights that Senator
Fitzpatrick be re-elected. In the midst of the current
anti-gay political backlash, we cannot afford to lose
one of only four gay-held state senate seats in the
country.
The Campaign
Expanding upon the grassroots support that elected him
in 1992, Senator Fitzpatrick is building upon a broad
coalition of supporters that includes Ocean State
Action (a coalition of advocacy groups dedicated to
education reform, tax reform, choice and civil rights
for all), the Coalition to Preserve Choice, the Rhode
Island Chapter of the National Association of Social
Workers, the National Education Association PAC for
Education, the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, Vote Environment,
the New England Health Care Employees Union, the
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees (Rhode Island Council 94) and the Employees
International Union, Local 134 (AFL-CIO).
Dedicated to creating jobs, protecting the environment,
improving education and supporting civil rights for all
people, Senator Fitzpatrick faces daunting opposition
for re-election. The Democratic committee that
endorsed his conservative opponent in 1992 is expected
to endorse another conservative opponent in 1994.
Because he is openly gay, Fitzpatrick is being targeted
by right-wing groups in his state. He has already been
subjected to personal attacks because of his
unequivocal support of civil rights/sexual orientation
legislation.
The Candidate
The Providence Journal-Bulletin describes Fitzpatrick
as having "the clean-cut reliable air you'd expect of a
reform candidate who knocked off a State House insider
in the primary and went on to win Election Day." He
works full-time (Rhode Island State Senators are only
paid $300 per year) as a computer programmer/analyst
with over twelve years of specialized experience in
publishing, health care, high-tech manufacturing, law
and tax collection. Active in his community,
Fitzpatrick has volunteered for the Edgewood
Neighborhood Association, for the Trinity Repertory
Company and for Literacy Volunteers of America, and
serves as a voter registrar. A dedicated advocate of
civil rights for all people, Fitzpatrick has been
recognized by the Alliance for the Mentally Ill of
Rhode Island for his "efforts to provide a voice in the
Rhode Island General Assembly for people with mental
illnesses, their friends and families and more
specifically, [for his] effort to end discrimination
against people with mental illness."
Senator Fitzpatrick has distinguished himself during
his freshman term by becoming the Vice-Chair of the
Joint Committee on Environment and Energy, and a member
of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate
Health, Education and Welfare Committee. He also
serves on the Eastern Regional Conference Committee of
the Council of State Governments and on the Commission
on Religious, Racial and Ethnic Harassment.
Among his legislative victories, Fitzpatrick was the
prime sponsor of a recycling bill, which is now law, to
lessen the waste stream going in the state landfill.
He was also the prime sponsor of a bill designed to
create jobs and improve decaying areas of his district
by adding a blighted section of Cranston to an existing
enterprise zone in Providence, thus attracting
businesses to the area by offering tax incentives.
This too was signed into law. Other successful
legislation provides for student representation on the
board of governors for higher education.
The District
State Senate District 11, where Fitzpatrick has been a
homeowner for six years, is located south of Providence
in Cranston, Rhode Island. A working- and middle-class
urban district with a small gay and lesbian population,
it is home to a large number of right-wing activists,
including the president of the Rhode Island State Right
to Life Committee who continues to make an issue of
Fitzpatrick's sexual orientation and is leading the
opposition against him.
Working for the Gay and Lesbian Community
A passionate fighter for gay and lesbian rights,
Fitzpatrick co-sponsored a hate crimes reporting bill
that passed during his first year in office. The bill
adds sexual orientation, gender and disability to
existing classes to be monitored by state, municipal
and campus police, allowing these agencies to record
crimes motivated by bigotry and bias.
Though located between two states that have extended
civil rights protection to gays and lesbians
Connecticut and Massachusetts Rhode Island has yet
to pass a gay civil rights law. Historically, Rhode
Island's efforts to enact this civil rights legislation
have been a sad series of missteps; for nine
consecutive years, legislation has been filed and has
failed. In 1990, the Senate approved the legislation
but it died in the House on a 45-45 deadlock vote. In
1991, the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee (a
strong opponent of civil rights for homosexuals) killed
the bill in committee by scheduling a vote during a
recess of the legislature when many supportive members
of the committee were out of town. Before
Fitzpatrick's election in 1992, the legislation was
approved by the House but failed in the Senate by a
vote of 25-23.
Since his election in November 1992, Fitzpatrick has
spearheaded the fight to enact state-wide civil rights
protection for gays and lesbians. In 1993, the bill
passed the Senate by a resounding 30-17 vote. The
unprecedented margin in the Senate can be directly
attributed both to Fitzpatrick's tireless work on the
measure's behalf and to his visible presence as an
openly gay elected official. Unfortunately, the bill
failed in the House of Representatives. "The
legislative battle is over for this year, but the fight
will continue," Fitzpatrick vowed.
Can He Win?
Fitzpatrick's 1992 trouncing of an entrenched incumbent
who outspent him 3:1 clearly shows that he can win in
the district, but his refusal to hide his sexual
orientation and his tireless advocacy for gay and
lesbian civil rights has made him the target of the
radical right. Capitalizing on Rhode Island's majority
Catholic population, anti-choice groups have converted
their rhetoric from pro-life to pro-family (i.e., anti-
gay). They are calling on their members and right-wing
allies to get Fitzpatrick out of office.
Why Will Fitzpatrick's Election Matters to You
In 1992, Fitzpatrick's campaign for State Senate was
rated as one of three "critical" races by the Rhode
Island Alliance for Lesbian & Gay Civil Rights. His
re-election in 1994 is even more critical for our
community. Allowing the radical right to succeed in
ousting one of the few openly gay elected officials in
the nation would be a terrible blow to lesbians and gay
men everywhere.
Why Your Contribution Matters to Will Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick must raise early money to mount a
professional campaign and discourage other candidates
from entering the race. Your contribution will also
help counteract right-wing funding that his opponents
are sure to receive.
To Support Will Fitzpatrick
Make your checks payable to:
Fitzpatrick Senate Committee
And mail them to:
The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund
1012 14th Street, N.W., Suite 707
Washington, DC 20005
Individual and PAC contributions are limited to $1,000
per calendar year. No corporate contributions are
allowed. Rhode Island State campaign finance laws
require that contributors giving more than $100 provide
their employer and employer's address.
Paid for by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and
authorized by the Fitzpatrick Senate Committee.
Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund
voice: 202-842-8679
fax: 202-289-3863
email: victoryf@aol.com